HUNTSVILLE | The final Gulf South Conference softball weekly awards of the season were announced on Tuesday, and The University of Alabama in Huntsville's Kiara Akles has been named both the GSC Pitcher of the Week and the GSC Player of the Week for her efforts in UAH's three-game sweep of No. 2 Valdosta State.
 
This is UAH's third Player of the Week honor of the season and this year's first Pitcher of the Week accolade, and this is the third weekly honor for Akles who was named the Player of the Week on April 2, 2019, and the Freshman of the Week on March 6, 2018.
 
Offensively this past weekend, Akles batted .556 with three home runs, seven RBI, and four runs in the three-game set. The Heflin, Alabama, native hit a home run in each of the three games, including a three-run blast in the series finale that broke a 2-2 tie and proved to be the eventual difference in the 5-3 game.
 
In that game, Akles also was strong in the circle against the vaunted Valdosta lineup, tossing a complete game while allowing just three runs – of which only two were earned – to hold the Blazers well below their season average of 8.2 runs per game.
 
Akles and her teammates will be back in action on Thursday when the team opens up play in the 2021 GSC Softball Championship tournament, taking on Mississippi College at 10 a.m. in Oxford, Alabama.